Blaustein, Jacob

Jacob Blaustein attended Lehigh for undergraduate engineering studies and was a member of the class of 1913. He left the university prior to graduating to help his father run the new business he founded in 1910 named the American Oil Company.

Youth and Education

Born September 30, 1892, Jacob Blaustein grew to become one of his generation's most influential industrialists, diplomats, and international philanthropists. He was educated at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and took mechanical drawing lessons at the Maryland Institute of Art prior to attending Lehigh where he studied mining engineering. He married Hilda Katz in 1925. She had been a childhood acquaintance since the first grade when they both attended Baltimore's Temple Oheb Shalom. The business he began with his father was responsible for the first drive-in filling station, the first visible gasoline pump, and the first anti-knock motor fuel, which Louis Blaustein named "Amoco."

Blaustein the Industrialist

In 1922, the Blausteins incorporated the American Oil Company (AMOCO). Jacob spent his entire career in the oil industry, continually improving upon his father's innovations.

Blaustein the Diplomat

Blaustein played a major role in solidifying the new country of Israel as an important world power following WWII.

Blaustein the Philanthropist

Jacob left a legacy of extensive international philanthropic work in scientific research and human rights advocation.